Jim Gerrish has put together a collection of routines that start with a Pop-Away wand and end up with, perhaps, a trick you never thought of using it for. You'd be surprised, for example, what a great blow-dye tube it makes for doing a mis-made flag. And yes, you can still use it for popping off the ends of the wand in the manner discovered by Maurice Phillips (c.1970). The e-Book is found in The Wizards' Journal #29.

I just updated the information on Jim's "Tricks With a Pop-Away Wand." I had forgotten just how many different effects were included in that one e-Book until a customer recently made me go back and check. Here they are:

Thank you for crediting the originator, Maurice Phillips. It was probably around 1970 when he developed it. I believe it was September 1972 when Supreme Magic first launched it. I wish Trixie Bond who sells it as the Topsy Popsy Wand would credit where it came from.

John Kimmons remembers Edwin telling him that Maurice Philips got the idea for the wand while watching employees in a warehouse shooting the caps off brazing rod containers at each other.

Jim and I both love magic history and we always try to track down the originators of the tricks we expand upon whenever possible. In this Pop-Away Wand e-Book, he tells the complete story as he researched it:

"The Pop-Away Wand is a product of the 20th century, made possible by discoveries in making flexible plastic tubes in the early 1970’s. The history of trick wands that break apart, flop around, jump or curl up, etc. goes back much further. For example, the modern break-away wand that falls apart in stringed sections was invented by George Wetherald and first marketed by Abbott’s in 1937.

Credit for the invention of the Pop-Away Wand goes to British magician Maurice Phillips. He worked in an aluminum factory in the 1970's and noticed various lengths and sizes of plastic tubing lying around. After playing around and popping caps off the ends of the tubes, he worked out the ideal size and material. Phillips sold the idea to Edwin Hooper of Supreme Magic, who began producing and selling the wands to magicians in 1972."